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Karasu
was a member of Team Toguro, during the events of the Dark Tournament. He is voiced by Ryo Horikawa in Japanese and by Kyle Hebert in the FUNimation English dub. In the Filipino Dub, his named is spelled as Karaso. Appearance Karasu is a tall, slender demon male, with his ten-foot teammate Toguro dwarfing him by only a few inches. He resembles a young, Japanese adult male, having very long, straight, jet-black hair and violet eyes with pointy eyelids. Some of his hair bangs are messily arched above his head and on his face. Karasu is slightly flamboyant, as he wears a long, wavy black coat with a red inside, which appears as if it's flying while he is running or jumping, since the jacket mirrors a pair of bat wings. On the bottom half of his face lies a metallic mask, with a couple strands of tape to help keep the mask on, eight breathing holes and a pair of horizontal triangular lenses akin to tiny reading glasses. This mask allows him to speak normally, and plays a more essential part during his fights, since it restrains his demon energy to a minimum. Karasu also wears a pair of dress slacks and shoes which compliment his look making him appear almost "business-like" at times. Personality Karasu is calm and collected, not getting rattled by his opponents. He is quiet and polite, as he does not speak often, but he does speak formally when addressing others. He noticeably dislikes opponents who are cowardly, instead preferring opponents who are brave enough to face him. He also seems to dislike opponents who are weaker than him, preferring to face opponents who possess either the same level of skill as him or are a bit stronger than him. Karasu comes off as being very dark. When he first met Kurama, he told him that Kurama is weak, but is fragile, as he views humans that way. He admits that Kurama makes him happy but then states that he enjoys being blue so whenever he encounters someone who makes him happy he has to kill them. Karasu claims to enjoy the relationship between victim and murderer, stating that before the murderer kills their victim the two share a level of intimacy which is too deep for words. He also views love as a sadomasochistic relationship, believing that lovers care deeply for each other and yet hurt each other whenever they are together. When his mask is removed however, Karasu's true personality shines through. He laughs maniacally as he charges his attack to attack Kurama in his Yoko form. Younger Toguro states Karasu has no loyalties, so he'd be willing to kill his own teammates if they get caught in the crossfire. He is also noticeably ruder than before, mockingly telling Kurama to pray to his God and ask how he flawed with him. In spite of his calm attitude, a trait shared with Bui, Karasu had a deep hatred for the Toguro Brothers, who had defeated him in a fight several years prior to the Dark Tournament. Upon defeating him, they made him their slave and told him that he belongs to them until he becomes strong enough to defeat them in battle. Elder Toguro notes that Karasu joined Team Toguro in the hopes that after they win the tournament he can settle score with the demonic brothers. Karasu and Bui have a different relationship from the Toguro Brothers. Unlike the Toguro Brothers, who are very close, Karasu and Bui seem detached from each other. Karasu and Bui respect each other but when Karasu died at Kurama's hands, Bui was indifferent. It can be assumed that if Bui had died first Karasu would be indifferent as well. Synopsis History An unspecified number of years prior to the last Dark Tournament, Karasu was defeated by the Toguro Brothers in a fight, and was almost left for dead. Overwhelmed by his performance during the fight, the Toguro Brothers spared Karasu from death, humiliating the demon bomber in the process. As a means to reclaim his stolen pride, Karasu joined Team Toguro and fought alongside the brothers within the Dark Tournament, in hopes that he might some day become strong enough in order to kill them. Dark Tournament Saga Karasu made his first appearance during the climax of the Urameshi Team vs. Rokuyukai Team. As he makes his way to the Black Black club members's seat room, his way is blocked by demon guards, whom he dispatches without effort. As the guards lie dead on the floor, Karasu enters the room where he meets up with Younger Toguro. Viewing Yusuke's match against Chu, Karasu points out the boy's potential and Toguro wonders if Urameshi will ever become strong enough in time for their fight within the finals. As the semifinals unfold, Team Toguro is pitted against Team Gorenja, the first match consisting of Karasu vs. Midorenjya, whom he easily kills, winning Team Toguro's first victory. Eventually Team Toguro make their way into the finals, after their brutal defeat of Team Gorenja. Once their match finished, Karasu, along with Bui, meet up with Team Urameshi's Kurama in an entry hall. Bui distracts Kurama's attention by hitting his fist onto a wall, giving time for Karasu to sneak up behind Kurama, whom he intimidates with his superior speed and reflexes. Shortly after, Karasu tells him that one of Team Urameshi's members was going to die that very day, and expresses his ambition of fighting with him in the finals. Fearing the outcome of the fight, Kurama begins mentally simulating his possible match against Karasu, but in every scenario he realizes that his opponent would always best him. During the Dark Tournament finals, Karasu is chosen for the first match, and is pitted against Kurama. Unknown to him, Kurama had been experimenting with the magical youth-granting juice given to him by Suzuka, that would allow him to change once again into the demon fox Yoko. After drinking the juice two minutes before the fight Kurama experiences no change, but nonetheless enters the ring. As the fight commences, Karasu gains the upper hand, blowing up Kurama's blade petals and injuring his opponent's left arm without having to touch it. He reveals that his power did not consist of touching his target in order for it to explode, but he rather emanates it directly and then channels it inside any object, living or otherwise. He then proceeded to create demon shaped dynamite sticks. After throwing the dynamite towards his adversary and into the stadium, the explosive blows up leaving a large smoke cloud in its place. Kurama retaliates by throwing a rose-knife towards Karasu, who is stabbed in the right hand. Out of the smoke screen, the still injured Kurama manages to fully transform into his original form of Yoko Kurama. However, Karasu shows no fear. Karasu creates a swarm of Trace Eye Bombs which he locks onto Yoko. After Yoko manages to avoid getting hit by the bombs, they successfully surround Yoko from virtually every angle. However, instead of dodging them, Yoko breeds the Ojigi Plant, a demon world species of mimosa which responds violently to any form of movement. The plant disposes of the bombs shortly after it rises from the ground, and begins attacking Karasu. As he tries dodging its attacks, Karasu throws two kinds of grenades at the plant, but both are unable to inflict any actual damage. He is caught and swallowed up by several of the plant's leaves, and in doing so, Karasu's mask accidentally falls off. He bursts through the plant and changes his hair from black to blonde. Using his own body as an explosive, Karasu causes an explosion which blows a hole in the stadium. While the Yoko survives the attack, he returns to his human form before emerging from the debris. As a last possible resort, Kurama attacks Karasu head on. Using only martial arts he is able to plant a bloodthirsty seed onto his adversary's chest. Unfortunately, Karasu was well aware of this trap and quickly removes and then destroys the seed. He then ignites a bomb onto Kurama's left foot before surrounding him with a minefield of shapeless bombs. As the bombs slowly explode around him, Kurama is pinned to the ground. Noticing Karasu's bleeding chest, Kurama gathers the last of his life energy in order to create a vampire tree that pierces the wound, killing Karasu in the process. Although he expected to die, a side effect of his continual transformations to his demon form was that part of Yoko Kurama's power had begun to return, saving him. Despite the fact that Kurama survives the match, the late Karasu was declared the real victor due to the fact that Kurama had been pinned on the ground for ten seconds, including the time it took to sprout the vampire tree. As a result, Team Toguro wins their first and only match of the finals. Techniques/Moves *Like Kurama, Karasu uses his demon energy in order to manipulate objects. However, given the fact that he is a Quest-class (支配者級 クエスト･クラス, Shihaisha-kyū Kurasu, translated as Governor-rank) demon, Karasu's powers can affect the intangible world. This means that he is able to literally create any object he desires purely out of his demon energy. After releasing his energy, Karasu can either create an item in thin air, or inside any form of matter, whether it be an inanimate object or the body of a living being. Depending on the strength and spiritual awareness of his adversary, Karasu's demon energy can be detected without him having to directly materialize it. Given his sadistic nature, Karasu prefers to create bombs by using his powers. These explosives include: :* Explosive Touch:'' ''This is Karasu's primary method of attack. Karasu creates small explosive bombs using his demon energy, strong enough to blow away body parts, but weak enough to prevent huge explosions. He first used this technique on Mideorenja where he blew both his arms off before destroying his whole body. This technique, though deadly, is more or less pointless as Karasu admitted he didn't need to touch his opponents to use his power, rather he called it "One of the perks." The bombs he places in his opponent can be suspended in the air and controlled at will, as seen during his fight with Kurama. :* Deleterious Bomb: Resembling three sticks of green, organic dynamite that are bound together, with a timer attached to it. The explosion that this technique caused was powerful enough to take out a chunk of the stadium housing both the final and semifinal rounds of the Dark Tournament. Never named in the original Japanese. :*'Trace-Eyes' (追跡爆弾 （トレースアイ）, Tsuiseki Bakudan Ai, translated as Pursuit Bombs): Flying balls of explosives outfitted with traditional string fuses, bat wings, and a single orange eye. These act much like seeker missiles. :*'Grenade': When facing Kurama's Ojigi Plant, he uses this to try to stop them, but the explosion proves ineffective. It looks like a regular Human World grenade, colored gray. :*'Demonic Grenade': When facing Kurama's Ojigi Plant, he uses this to try to stop them, but this explosion also proves ineffective. Looks like a Human World grenade, but has a skull design on it and is colored green, instead of gray. :*'Mad Bomb' (地下爆弾（マッディボム）, Chika Bakudan (Madi Bomu), translated as Underground Bomb): Acting much like a bear trap, it latches onto the leg of an opponent before exploding. This technique is also Karasu's only officially-classified technique. * Vanishing: During his fights Karasu showed he could vanish from the sight of his adversaries and appear from above them. It's not clear he can do it due his speed because he disappeared slowly in the anime while performing this technique. :*After removing his mask, Karasu's hair can turn blond if he inhales the energy around him, and it's an external sign that he is reaching the peak of his power. Then his body itself can be used as an explosion, multiple times, until he returns to normal, depending on the amount of energy he uses. *'Full Body Explosion': After getting trapped in Kurama's Ojigi Plant, Karasu releases his energy all around and creates a large explosion in order to escape the plant's deadly grasp. ::*'Flight': Shown when he used his Full Body Explosion attack/technique. Trivia *'Karasu '''is Japanese for crow, a black bird that is well known for being a ''necrophagist (corpse eater). *Like most demons and demon orientated scenery, Karasu's bombs were visually inspired off of the surrealist, nightmarish art style of H. R. Giger. *Yoshihiro Togashi's next manga series, Hunter X Hunter, features several characters who appear to be based on Karasu: :#'Feitan', a member of the Phantom Troupe, physically resembles him the most as he has pointy eye lids with violet colored eyes and straight, jet-black hair, the same way Karasu does. He also wears a long coat, but with a tall collar that covers his mouth entirely, mimicking both Karasu's mask and his jacket. However, Feitan has neck-length hair, and stands at only 5 foot 1 inches tall. :#'The Bomb Devils' are a trio of human beings who can place aura crafted bombs onto other living beings. Although none of them resembles Karasu physically, and their powers actually required them to touch people in order to place bombs, they shared many of Karasu's personality traits. They would immobilize their targets by blowing up various body parts and they would even take great pleasure when killing people. *In the Japanese dub, Karasu had a tendency to use English words when speaking. When talking to Kurama for the first time he specifically says "treatment" and "cool". *Due to Karasu's distracting intimate comments toward Kurama, many fans have been led to believe that he is in fact homosexual. *It is interesting to note that, wiht blonde hair and without his mask, Karasu greatly resembles Castlevania: Symphony of the Night protagonist Alucard. *In the hit anime/manga series, Naruto Shippuden, an antagonist named Deidara bears a loose resemblance to Karasu. **Both are users of explosives and are able to fight at a distance. **They are very confident in their abilities and love to see their opponents explode. **Both have blond hair (though this only when Karasu absorbs his own energy). **Both can turn themselves and their energy into an explosive. **They are both great strategist that sometimes play with their opponents. **Both cover one of their sensory organs (Deidara with his eye, and Karasu with his mouth). **Both only joined their group after being defeated by one of the members and train to kill the member that beat them (Itachi for Deidara and Toguro for Karasu). Both members were also silent but one of the most powerful members of the group. **Both are skilled at fighting from a distance and close up. **Both can form beings that can explode (Deidara from his clay and Karasu from his Youki). **Both wanted to defeat a character named Kurama (Deidara wanted to capture the Kyūbi while Karasu wanted to kill Kurama) and they both failed. **Both killed many beings and were feared for their skills. **Both of them wore black and red. *Also in the hit anime/manga series, Bleach, an antagonist named Äs Nödt bares a loose resemblance to Karasu. **Ironically, many fans think of Äs Nödt (in his unreleased state) as a hybrid of both Karasu and Illumi Zoldyck from Hunter x Hunter. **Both have very long, straight, jet-black hair. **Both wear a metallic mask that covers bottom half of their face. **Both are very confident in their abilities. **Both are known to intimidate their opponents, mainly the main characters, in a similar fashion. * Karasu bares some resemblance to Jackie Estacado, the protagonist from The Darkness comics and video games. ** Jackie has long black hair and wears a very similar style of mask over his mouth when in his armor. ** Interestingly, Jackie Estacado's powers are also 'demonic' in nature; the host of a demonic symbiotic entity known as "The Darkness", Jackie has incredible and seemingly limitless power and strength as long as he remains in the shadows. * Karasu's fighting style and attire are similar to Street Fighter character Doctrine Dark, as both are homicidal maniacs who have blonde hair (though in Karasu's case only when he inhales demon energy), use explosives and wear breathing masks. * In the blu-ray release of the English dub, a muffled effect was given to Karasu's voice during all scenes with his mask on whereas it was not present in the original version. 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